Brisbane Lions coach Michael Voss knew club was talking to other candidates

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SACKED Brisbane coach Michael Voss feared he was a dead man walking just six weeks into the 2013 AFL season.

The former Lions boss said other than being told the club was making inquiries with Paul Roos, the “silence was deafening’’ from powerbrokers until the past week when “all the dominoes started to stack up’’ and his fate was “inevitable’’.

With a badly out-of-form Brisbane languishing near the bottom of the AFL ladder with a 2-4 win-loss record after six weeks, Voss thought the worst but was hopeful the Lions’ mid-season revival would save his bacon.

All that changed when he received a phone call from Lions chairman Angus Johnson at 8.03am on Tuesday to alert him that Brisbane’s board was meeting that day.

A matter of hours later, his tenure was over. His 22-year association with Brisbane as a player and coach snuffed out.

He was neither “sad’’ or “angry’’ and did not harbour any ill-feelings towards the club. One of the game’s great warriors as a player, Voss is disappointed he was not given the opportunity to finish what he started in 2009.

“I’m sitting here for a reason. Obviously they (Lions board) are very confident of a different direction,’’ he said.

“Early in the year I thought it would be tough to hang in there. Around round 6 I thought we were really struggling.

“The year didn’t start well but we improved as the year went on and we were genuinely bridging the gap with the top teams which was an important marker in the eyes of the board. All these markers were being met.

“I never got the chance to talk to the board about my position. I hadn’t spoken to Angus about it for 12 weeks. It was just silence.

“When I opened up the dialogue, I saw what was unfolding.

“It (the sacking) has got more to do with whether or not I can get them to the next level or not. It’s their call.

“Sometimes you are the last to know.’’

Voss addressed the Lions playing group and coaching staff after fronting a 35-minute press conference at the Legends Room at the Gabba flanked by two of his executioners, Johnson and Brisbane CEO Malcolm Holmes.

He was typically stoic in front of the huge media pack but said saying goodbye to his players behind closed doors was one of the toughest things he has had to do in football.

He urged the players to treat every training session like they were playing in the grand final that weekend.

“It was emotional because you are invested in the players and the club. Coaching has to be an obsession, that’s what it was for me, so to walk away from it was a tough thing to do,’’ Voss said.

“It wasn’t a long chat but I got the chance to shake everyone’s hand and look them in the eye which is all I wanted to do.

“I’ll move on and so will they’’.

A host of Lions players took to Twitter on Tuesday afternoon to pay tribute to Voss.

Voss said that former Lions coach Leigh Matthews contacted him on Tuesday morning and was grateful to get some perspective from the man who helped him lift three premiership cups.

“He sent me a text and I went to meet him. He ended up asking me questions but it was great to tap into that wealth of knowledge and experience,’’ Voss said.

“I appreciated him being proactive. It’s not a bad thing to talk to a father-figure like him at a time like this.’’

Voss said he had “no idea’’ what he would do next and had not considered applying for the vacant Melbourne Demons job. He said his young family would be a major consideration when he decided on his career path.

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